{"id":93106,"date":"2025-07-09T05:29:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T19:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=93106"},"modified":"2025-07-09T05:29:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T19:59:06","slug":"home-energy-efficiency-report-mb3221","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/home-energy-efficiency-report-mb3221\/","title":{"rendered":"Call For A National Energy Efficiency Rebate Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-93107\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/australian-homes-solar.jpg\" alt=\"Home solar installations in an Australian suburb\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/australian-homes-solar.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/australian-homes-solar-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/australian-homes-solar-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/australian-homes-solar-768x403.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Policy debate in Australia concerned with addressing rising energy costs has largely centred on the wrong solutions says a new report &#8211; the focus should be on homes, not power plants.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>While solar power has put downward pressure on electricity prices, this has been offset by increases in gas and coal prices, coal-fired clunkers becoming increasingly unreliable, and rising network costs. Assistance such as energy bill rebates, while welcome, are a sugar hit and don&#8217;t address the underlying issues.<\/p>\n<p>A new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) says three significant elements are keeping energy prices elevated.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Many households continue to rely on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/like-money-get-off-gas\/\"> expensive gas<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Most homes use energy inefficiently.<\/li>\n<li>Most household energy consumption occurs when the sun isn\u2019t shining.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The report\u2019s author, Energy Finance Analyst Jay Gordon, says reducing the energy households draw from the grid and using it in a smarter way is one of the most effective ways to reduce energy costs.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cOur findings show that deep energy bill reductions can be enabled through the household energy upgrades we recommend in our report,&#8221; says Gordon. &#8220;Household energy upgrades could form the core of a federal and state government strategy to halve household energy bills.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Among the recommendations made in the report is focusing on solutions such as boosting uptake of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/energy-efficiency\/appliances\/\"> energy-efficient electric appliances<\/a> such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/hot-water\/heat-pump\/\">heat pump hot water systems<\/a>, load-shifting \u2014 and of course <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/solar101.html\"> solar power systems<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/battery-storage\/comparison-table\/\">home batteries<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-93109\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/energy-upgrades-savings.jpg\" alt=\"Savings from energy efficiency upgrades\" width=\"900\" height=\"626\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/energy-upgrades-savings.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/energy-upgrades-savings-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/energy-upgrades-savings-768x534.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Even More Savings With Thermal Efficiency<\/h2>\n<p>The report also makes the point that while having solar panels, home batteries and energy efficient appliances are all well and good, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/energy-efficiency\/thermal\/\"> thermally efficient homes<\/a> could unlock even further savings and better utilise that equipment.<\/p>\n<p>Many Australian homes, particularly older stock, are notorious for thermal efficiency.\u00a0The National Home Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) rates the thermal efficiency of Australian homes on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 stars the most efficient. Although pegging the average rating of existing homes is difficult due to poor data, it&#8217;s around 2 stars says the report.<\/p>\n<p>As an example of how much of an impact thermal efficiency can have, a 7-star home in Melbourne is likely to consume about two thirds of the energy of a 2-star home. The minimum NatHERS rating for new homes in most of Australia these days is 7 stars.<\/p>\n<p>By boosting thermal efficiency, pre-heating and pre-cooling a home become viable and will contribute to increased load-shifting to times of the day when the sun is shining and grid electricity is cheaper. This would result in not only consumer savings, but significant mains grid demand reduction.<\/p>\n<h2>Virtual Power Plants Need More Scrutiny<\/h2>\n<p>The report also touches on the role of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/battery-storage\/virtual-power-plants\/\">Virtual Power Plants<\/a> (VPPs), stating the financial implications of participation is difficult due to limited information on how operators manage batteries.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;There is a risk that batteries are operated in a way that benefits the operator but not the consumer, and it is difficult for consumers to understand if they will receive a net benefit from signing up to a VPP.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The report says more regulation may be needed, and as a matter of urgency given their tie-in with battery rebates.<\/p>\n<p>SolarQuotes&#8217; Ronald Brakels recently published a couple of articles on VPPs &#8211; one examining if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/should-you-take-the-battery-rebate-bait-and-join-a-vpp\/\">battery owners should join a VPP<\/a>, and the other about the potential <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/vpps-have-pros-cons\/\">difficulties, issues, and traps of Virtual Power Plant<\/a> programs.<\/p>\n<h2>A National Energy Efficiency Rebate Scheme<\/h2>\n<p>While some states have their own energy efficiency programs, the report recommends a comprehensive, national incentive scheme should be implemented; and among other actions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Minimum energy performance standards expanded and increased.<\/li>\n<li>Fairer electricity pricing structures (consumption and exports) for consumers; rewarding efforts to reduce peak demand.<\/li>\n<li>A review re-evaluating energy network cost recovery approaches.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So, how could a national energy efficiency rebate scheme be integrated? The report offers two suggested approaches.<\/p>\n<p>The first is to expand and extend Australia&#8217;s Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) to provide a broad-based incentive to households to reduce energy consumption and peak demand. The SRES is the program providing the framework for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/panels\/rebate\/\">solar panel rebates<\/a> and more recently, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/battery-storage\/federal-rebate\/\">national battery rebate<\/a>; both of which can knock thousands of dollars off the costs of installing those systems.<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, another approach could be working with New South Wales and\/or Victoria to expand their energy upgrade schemes to other states and territories. New South Wales has its Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS), and Victoria has the long-running Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) initiative.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Decision-makers must consider the barriers that have historically blocked households from taking up cost-effective energy upgrades, and past experience of policies that have proved to be successful,&#8221; states the report&#8217;s conclusion. &#8220;A combination of improved standards for household appliances, and comprehensive, consistent rebate schemes are likely to drive much higher uptake of the upgrades discussed in this report.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The full report, titled &#8220;A focus on homes, not power plants, could halve energy bills&#8221;, <a href=\"https:\/\/ieefa.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2025-07\/A%20focus%20on%20homes,%20not%20power%20plants,%20could%20halve%20energy%20bills_Jul25.pdf\"> can be accessed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On a related note, a round-up of what&#8217;s currently on offer across Australia in terms of solar and energy efficiency incentives can be found on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/rebates-subsidies\/\">rebates and subsidies page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Policy debate in Australia concerned with addressing rising energy costs has largely centred on the wrong solutions says a new report &#8211; the focus should be on homes, not power plants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":93107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-battery-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Call For A National Energy Efficiency Rebate Scheme<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Report: policy debate in Australia around rising energy costs has largely centred on the wrong solutions - the focus should be on homes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/home-energy-efficiency-report-mb3221\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Call For A National Energy Efficiency Rebate Scheme\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Report: policy debate in Australia around rising energy costs has largely centred on the wrong solutions - the focus should be on homes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/home-energy-efficiency-report-mb3221\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-08T19:59:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/australian-homes-solar.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Bloch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/home-energy-efficiency-report-mb3221\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/home-energy-efficiency-report-mb3221\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Bloch\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1\"},\"headline\":\"Call For A National Energy Efficiency Rebate Scheme\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-08T19:59:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/home-energy-efficiency-report-mb3221\/\"},\"wordCount\":861,\"commentCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/home-energy-efficiency-report-mb3221\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/australian-homes-solar.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"General Solar &amp; 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